The federal bankruptcy court that includes Orange County had more than 32,000 bankruptcy filings in the first quarter of 2010, by far the most in the nation, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Orange County is part of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Central District of California. In the first quarter, 32,236 bankruptcies were filed in the central district, 8.3% of the 388,148 filed nationwide. Orange County individuals and businesses filed 4,292 in the first quarter.

Those 2006 spikes followed by steep drops clearly show when the bankruptcy reform law went into effect. Since then, recession, rising unemployment and economic uncertainty have contributed to a steady climb in filings by individuals and businesses.

For any district, you can view the filing statistics for one of seven categories. For states you can view them all at once or individually. By every measure and type, California has the most filings in the nation and the Central District has the most filings in California.